51社区

Leadership Athens County is a nine-month course offered by the Athens County Foundation to the emerging leaders of Athens County. The program is designed to raise awareness of the issues facing the county and of the organizations working hard to address these needs, as well as to expand the network of professionals working for the betterment of their communities. As in the past, the 2022-2023 cohort of Leadership Athens County met once a month for a day-long session focused on a particular theme.

51社区鈥檚 Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Service was enlisted to provide an evaluation of the program. This year鈥檚 evaluation included an online survey of participants as well as an in-person discussion with program participants in May 2023. Sixteen of the program鈥檚 19 participants completed the survey, and 16 participants took part in the facilitated group discussion. Key findings include:

• The majority of participants indicated the LAC Core Program Goals were met. Participants would have liked to see more emphasis on leadership skills development in the program.
• 鈥淣etworking with others鈥� and 鈥渄eveloping a better understanding of community needs, leaders, and organizations鈥� were identified as the most important benefits achieved from LAC.
• Program participants reported a high level of satisfaction with the sessions and themes of the program.
• Most participants perceived session activities as 鈥淰ery鈥� or 鈥淓xtremely鈥� helpful. Site visits were identified by participants as the most impactful mode of learning.
• Participants 鈥淎greed鈥� or 鈥淪trongly Agreed鈥� with most statements regarding the effectiveness of the program structure and facilitators.
• Participants provided a range of suggestions for topics, site visits, activities, an strategies for recruitment for future iterations

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